This invention relates generally to electronic devices, and more particularly, to adapters that allow multiple users to share an electronic device.
Electronic devices such as computers, cellular telephones, and media players have audio capabilities. In making use of these audio capabilities, users often attach accessories such as headsets to a device. A typical device may include an audio jack or other port for an accessory. The user may insert a mating accessory plug into the port on the device to connect the accessory to the device. Once connected in this way, the user may listen to audio content with speakers in the accessory. If the accessory contains a microphone, the user may speak into the microphone. Microphone signals may then be conveyed to the electronic device from the accessory. Arrangements such as this are often used to support voice telephone calls. A user can listen to audio through headset speakers while conversing with a remote caller using a headset microphone.
Accessories such as headsets contain wires. A user who is using a headset may desire to control an electronic device remotely over the wires. Accordingly, some headsets are provided with buttons. A user may press a headset button to control the electronic device. For example, a user may press a button to answer an incoming telephone call or to play or pause a song during media playback operations.
It is sometimes desirable to share electronic devices between multiple users. For example, if two passengers on an airplane are sitting next to each other, they may wish to view the same movie on a laptop computer. Conventional audio splitters allow multiple headphones to be connected to a common audio jack. Conventional arrangements such as these may therefore be used to allow multiple users to share an electronic device. However, electronic device audio ports typically are driven by audio amplifiers that are coupled to audio jacks through direct current (DC) blocking capacitors. The size of these DC blocking capacitors is chosen to provide an optimal frequency response when transmitting audio signals to a single headset. When multiple headsets are connected to a device using a conventional splitter, the reduced impedance resulting from the additional headsets can adversely affect the frequency response of the audio output. Conventional audio splitters are also incapable of handling more advanced functions such as functions responsive to user input commands.
It would therefore be desirable to be able to provide improved ways in which multiple users can share an electronic device.